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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Favorite Restaurants

In constructing a Best of DC list, we initially tried to break restaurants into artificial categories. However, we constantly ran into the problem of finding a category for some of our favorite places. They weren't necessarily the best value or the best ambiance or the best anything... they were just the places that we went to the most. Many are easy on the wallet and conveniently close to home. All are worth a trip back. And shouldn't that quality alone be worth a category of the most high regard? We thought so.

2 Amys - Despite not being Metro accessible and always crowded (plan on a 30 minute to 1 hour wait at all times of day or night), we keep coming back to enjoy the best pizza in town. Top quality ingredients, flavorful dough, and creative combinations never fail to impress. See our full post here.

Ben's Chili Bowl - It is a D.C. institution. Most cities have a couple of these historic greasy spoons but this one is worth the hype (and the potential heartburn). You can't visit or live in DC without trying a half-smoke... See our full post here.

Teaism - Features great tea (duh!) but also a huge assortment of other mostly Asian inspired goodies. One day you may crave their oatmeal and cookies while another day may bring shrimp udon or their handroll bento (make your own sushi). Teaism can take on many faces, each one is a whole lot of tasty. See our full post here.

Mr. Yogato - We grew up in the land of frozen yogurt (Southern California), and while you may find bigger, cheaper, or even tastier fro-yo elsewhere, you will not have a better time satisfying your sweet tooth anywhere. Get a stamp on your head, recite the Battle of Sterling speech from Braveheart, come up with three countries that don't share any letters with "mackerel", or play on their original Nintendo system... However you enjoy your Yogato, you'll leave with a smile on your face and aspirations of coming 29 more days in a row to get a flavor named after you. See our full post here.

Mayur Kabab House - Sometimes the best food is not found in the shiny new place with the celebrity chef. Sometimes what you are craving is the inexpensive and unpretentious hole-in-the-wall that promises bold flavors and huge portions. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name... OK, so maybe you won't find Norm and Cliff shoveling Rogan Josh down their throats but as far as a comfortable old standby, you can't go wrong at Kabab House. See our full post here.

Brasserie Beck - While Beck does feature a famous chef (Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel's) and a comprehensive menu of Belgian favorites, two things will bring you back again and again. The beer list and the mussels. The all-Belgian beer bible is extensive and guarantees the perfect beverage for those who are most picky with their beer to those who hate beer and everyone in between. Similarly, you don't have to even like mussels to love Beck. The favors and aromas, not to mention the dippable bread, are rich and memorable. Plus, the mussels are served with amazing french fries. See our full post here.

Potbelly - This is what Subway should be. Really good, fast, and inexpensive sandwiches that don't taste like they were made on an assembly line with cut-rate ingredients. Add almost universally friendly staff, great ice cream desserts, and cookies laced with crack (how else could they be so addicting?) and you've got a winner.

Julia's Empanadas - What is an empanada (aka emp)? - a stuffed pastry popular in South America. What is Julia's? - cheap, tasty goodness. See our guest post here.

Five Guys - Coming from the land of In-n-Out Burger, Five Guys looked oddly familiar. While the interiors look nearly identical, the burgers are far from it. Five Guys deserves credit for giving you the ability to customize your burger with a laundry list of different ingredients and for their unique Cajun fries, but I don't think they can match the taste of a Double-Double. Still, it isn't a bad substitute...

5 comments:

Ray's the Steaks in SE Washington, DC - good steaks at a great price. If you are going to include 2 Amy's (not Metro accessible and an hour wait), you have to include Ray's (Metro accessible and no wait).

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